No Deal As Valentin Departs Denver

Published 8:00 pm, Thursday, January 17, 2002

Third baseman John Valentin left Colorado without a contract after three days of workouts and medical tests for the Rockies.

"We are still talking things over, looking at our options, trying to decide what we can do," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said.

The Rockies have considered New York Mets player Todd Zeile as a fallback if they don't sign Valentin, can't work out a trade with Detroit for Shane Halter, or Seattle doesn't release David Bell. San Francisco also has shown interest in trading for Bell.

The 35-year-old Valentin, a career .281 hitter, played only 30 games the past two seasons because of knee and heel injuries. He has been with the Boston Red Sox since breaking into the majors in 1992.